PEA RIDGE — A halftime adjustment paid big dividends for Heber Springs on Friday night.
Panthers Coach Steve Janski moved Clint Ligon from receiver to running back, and the senior responded by rushing for 117 yards in the second half as Heber Springs scored 36 consecutive points to defeat Pea Ridge 42-21 in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs at Blackhawks Stadium.
Pea Ridge (10-2) had a 21-6 lead and the momentum at halftime, but Heber Springs scored on its first five possessions of the second half to pull away. Heber Springs (7-4) will play Highland (21-1) Friday night in the quarterfinals.
“This is a big thing for Heber Springs to go to the quarterfinals,” Janski said. “It’s only been done two times in the history of the school. Our seniors have done a phenomenal job.”
Ligon had 3 catches for 51 yards in the first half and 1 carry for 1 yard, but the second half was a different story as Ligon rushed 8 times for 117 yards and caught 4 passes for 88 yards. Ligon had touchdown runs of 34, 15 and 2 yards, and his 40-yard run set up the Panthers’ second touchdown of the second half.
Ligon, who finished with 139 yards receiving on seven catches, lined up at receiver, running back and quarterback in the second half.
“We came in at half and said we had to figure a way to get him the ball,” Janski said.
“He has been a phenomenal player for us all year long. We just put him in the backfield and let him go at it.
“That really worked out for us. He really wants the ball in his hands.”
Pea Ridge turned over the ball twice in the second half and had just three first downs after taking a 15-point lead at halftime.
“We have played two or three bad quarters this year, and one was the third quarter against Prairie Grove and then in the third quarter against Heber Springs,” Pea Ridge Coach Tony Travis said.
“Heber Springs did what they had to do.
“Ligon is a great athlete, and we knew they were going to try and get him the ball in different ways. He made some plays for them.”
Pea Ridge running back Dayton Winn rushed 16 times for 102 yards in the first half but the senior was held to just 14 yards on four carries in the second half. Winn finishes the season with 2,061 yards rushing.
Pea Ridge marched 63 yards on the game’s opening possession and took a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Austin Easterling.
Winn upped the lead to 14-0 with a 53-yard scoring run on the first play of the second quarter.
Easterling threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jack Rapp right before halftime for a 21-6 lead, but the second half belonged to the Panthers and Ligon.
STUTTGART 54, DARDANELLE 0
STUTTGART — Tyler Luster rushed for four touchdowns as Stuttgart (10-1) ran past Dardanelle (9-3) in the Class 4A playoffs.
Luster scored his first touchdown with 7:55 left in the first quarter and Marco Lara kicked the first of his six extra points for the only scoring in that quarter.
Stuttgart pushed that lead to 40-0 in the second quarter.
Dontrell Brown ran 3 yards for a touchdown for Stuttgart’s next score and passed 19 yards to Courtney Carrol for the final touchdown of the half.
In between, Luster ran 12 and 2 yards for touchdowns and Carrol returned a punt 60 yards. A two-point conversion followed Carrol’s return.
Luster added a 33-yard touchdown run with 8:14 left in the third quarter. Stuttgart’s final score came on a 4-yard run by T.J. Johnson with 2:40 to play.
WARREN 32, MALVERN 28
WARREN — Drake Jones ended a 324-yard passing night with a 52-yard touchdown pass to Kilay Cox for the game-winner, then Dey’Shawn McRae intercepted a Malvern (9-3) pass to preserve the Class 4A playoff victory for Warren (9-3).
Malvern had taken a 28-25 lead early in the fourth quarter before Jones and Cox connected on Jones’ third touchdown pass of the game.
McRae’s interception came on a fourth-down play from the 11 with 48 seconds left after Malvern had returned the ensuing kickoff to the Warren 15-yard line.
Jones completed 23 of 46 passes for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns, and ran 5 yards for another score in the third quarter.
Cox rushed 17 times for 116 yards and a 2-yard touchdown in addition to his touchdown reception. Jones’ other touchdown passes were for 48 yards in the first quarter to Lafoy Smith and 17 yards in the second quarter to Von Eric Gonder.
NASHVILLE 49, CENTRAL ARK. CHRISTIAN 13
NASHVILLE — Nashville raced out to a 42-0 halftime lead and cruised to a Class 4A second-round victory over Central Arkansas Christian at Scrapper Stadium. Nashville (10-2) advances to next week’s quarterfinals at Prairie Grove, which defeated Pottsville, 34-28, on Friday. Jakaree Gaines led the Scrappers with 153 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. He carried the ball 12 times and scored on runs of 2 and 39 yards against CAC (7-4). Nashville quarterback Joel Hendry passed for two scores to Lavonte Thomas, covering 25 and 33 yards. The Scrappers’ other touchdowns were by Kyler Lawrence (4-yard run), Tesean Green (7-yard run) and Lamichael Pettway (3-yard run).
Nashville, which reached the quarterfinals last year, rolled up 400 yards of total offense, 236 on the ground and 164 through the air. The Scrappers also recovered the game’s only fumble.
Sports, Pages 26 on 11/17/2012